Saturday, February 27, 2010

or the Audi mess back when, but I do have a car story:Back when, Dad was one of the people who taught Emergency Vehicle Operation at his agency. When anti-lock brakes came out, overall they seemed to be a pretty good thing. Until.

Imagine this: car with four people in it, two in back, driver, and instructor on the right. Coming into a curve at high speed the driver does it just right: comes in outside, then hits the brake to scrub off speed to make the turn, except that the car didn't slow down. At freakin' all. Happily the driver didn't try to make the turn at that speed, and there was nothing to run into except the plowed field through the fence, so nobody hurt.

First question, of course, was "Are you sure you were on the brake?" Driver said yes, instructor said flatly "YES. I looked, she had the pedal stomped all the way down and the brakes weren't braking." But when they got it back on pavement, they worked fine. So some experiments were done.

The road into that turn was slightly washboardy; not enough to jar your teeth, but enough to feel. It seems that in the speed range they went into the turn at, the tires were coming up enough for the brakes to grab slightly more than when the tires were solidly on the ground, which caused the computer chip in the anti-lock system to think the brakes were locking, so it released the brakes; thus, pedal stomped down with no effect as the car went through the fence.

As I recall, a phone call was made to the manufacturer where some 'customer service' type said "That can't happen." With predictable response, including an offer to glue him to the hood while they demonstrated. Finally got through to an engineer who listed and said "Oh bleep." And it got fixed.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Friend gave me their old iPod Shuffle, which was nice. Loaded iTunes*, and the damn thing would NOT show any music loaded. Uninstalled, reinstalled, restored, etc. iTunes showed the player connected, all's well, but would NOT put music on it.

Dug around a bit, and found that apparently there's some bug in the versions later than 7 that will not work with the Shuffle. Very effing nice of Apple, isn't it? And from what I can tell, the damned problem has been around a while, Apple just hasn't bothered to fix it.

and if I hadn't already it would have made me understood why Tam & others so like these older firearms: in this case a S&W K-38 Target MasterpieceThe one I fired had much more finish wear; it had been fired a lot over time. Which took nothing away from the accuracy potential and may only have smoothed the action a touch more.

I had some .38 wadcutter loads using Berry's plated double-ended wadcutters, and some using a 162-grain gas-check semi-wadcutter; both shot beautifully. The trigger was a thing of wonder, absolutely clean and with no perceptible movement after the break, and double-action was very smooth. Personally I'd prefer some larger grips, but that's a personal preference not touching on the revolver itself. The way I describe a gun like this is "It even helps ME shoot well." I've still got the last target somewhere; at about ten-twelve yards, six rounds two-handed and six one-handed in a group less than 2" across except for one flyer that opened it up to about 2.5". And for me to put one-handed shots that tight is not real common; excellent sights and that trigger really help.

Codrea links to, and yeah, this passage is bad:The bill is also a slap in the face to Wyoming law enforcement. By joining Vermont and Alaska as the only states in the nation to allow conceal-carry without a permit, Wyoming lawmakers would effectively remove the ability of officers to quickly determine if someone who is carrying a weapon is legally entitled to.It's that phrase 'legally entitled to' that bothers me; it pisses me off that an honest citizen has to jump through a whole set of hoops and pay to be allowed to carry, and it seems to be his concern that nobody should be allowed to without permission from the state. And if you object, well, you don't care about the cops.

Bullcrap.

The fact is that Wyoming residents who meet the reasonable requirements of the state -- including that they have not been convicted of felonies or been adjudicated mentally ill -- have no trouble at all obtaining permits. (The House removed the requirement of proof of firearms training, which Oedekoven said should be restored.)Uh, guy? If you've got a felony conviction(in some states ANY felony) or are adjudicated mentally ill, it's illegal for you to so much as pick up a gun and look at it, let alone carry it; are you not familiar with this? Or was it just a way to say "See, our restrictions on you are only reasonable? We're only keeping the unworthy from carrying?" Bullcrap that sounds good?

Same attitude in "If we allow just anyone to carry without a permit, criminals will come here!" Oh, please; you don't have laws about robbery and rape and such? You actually think Will they flock to Wyoming to take advantage of the state's looser gun laws? when those laws would mean more of their potential victims would be armed?

Make sure the law notes that if you're drunk or drugged(which you can already be jailed for) it's illegal to carry, make it a rule that when stopped by an officer you have to advise them if you're carrying and simply enforce the laws on anyone acting s illegally. Apparently it'll be a surprise for these folks, but I have a large amount of concern for LE; I've known too many and know just what an often-times miserable job it is. And I get really pissed when it's implied that "If you don't go along with what we say, it means you don't care if cops get killed" line.

Oh, and the reason NRA and other groups helped push so hard for 'shall issue' laws? Because it was the only way to get it through without, I fear I must say, officials like you having the power to prevent someone getting a permit; and in most states the only way to get through the BS and get honest citizens a way to carry for self-defense without winding up in jail. That doesn't mean it should be the end of it; I'd much rather it be "Any honest citizen with no legal matters that would prevent can carry for self-defense, no permit required."

using the language to play with the law and peoples' lives for what amounts to personal reasons.In New England, "harassment" has included, within recent times, jokes and ways of telling stories, "experienced by others as harassing" (Bowdoin College); "verbal behavior" that produces "feelings of impotence," "anger," or "disenfranchisement," whether "intentional or unintentional" (Brown University); speech that causes loss of "self-esteem [or] a vague sense of danger" (Colby College); or even "inappropriately directed laughter," "inconsiderate jokes," and "stereotyping" (University of Connecticut). The student code of the University of Vermont demands that its students not only not offend each other, but that they appreciate each other: "Each of us must assume responsibility for becoming educated about racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia/heterosexism, and other forms of oppression so that we may respond to other community members in an understanding and appreciative manner."(people are paying HOW MUCH a year to put up with this crap?)

Central to this potential movement should be its nonpartisan aims. The abuses described in Three Felonies a Day have been steadily worsening under every administration, Democrat and Republican, since the 1980s. (The current Justice Department shows little hope of reversing course.) While the statute books have expanded, and the statutory language remains hopelessly malleable, every aspect of civil society---doctors, artists, activists, and businessmen, to name a few---has been unfairly targeted. Even the feds' pursuit of supposedly corrupt politicians, almost always met with applause from the press corps and the political opposition, cuts across ideological bounds.Which once again brings us back to "Are there enough lampposts and trees in DC for the politicians and bureaucrats both?"

Thursday, February 25, 2010

I think at War on Guns; basically a bunch of ATF agents/personnel tired of the bad things and wanting to do something about it. Might be worth your time to take a look, just hit some of the links and see what they have to say.

actually stood up to The One and both pissed him off enormously and refuted a lot of the arguments pushing the socialized medicine bill. I'd expected this to be another of the "We must be bipartisan when dealing the the President no matter what he says" displays of caving in; and I'm very happy to say I'm surprised.

Ace noted some of the stacking-the-deck rules Obama came up with to try to control this:1. Democrats get more time because "I'm the President."

2. Republicans may not criticise my bill. They can only talk about things on which we agree.

3. Republicans may not use the word "Washington" because it tips the scales.

4. Republicans may not use or reference an actual copy of the Senate bill. That's a "prop" and it's unfair.

And add to that 5. We're not in "campaign mode anymore," by which he means McCain cannot mention his dirty dealings.They didn't let that keep them from making points, and the stuff I've heard has been pretty good. Even better was Obama sitting there looking VERY pissed that "I actually have to listen to these people! I have to let the peasants here them! And I don't like it."

So it's not just computers being lost and/or stolen:...Meanwhile, the lost, stolen and damaged report for ICE shows 13 vehicles classified as "lost" or "not found during physical inventory."...The ICE inventory shows a loss of approximately 435 computers. Numerous vehicles were sold in which no documentation of the sale could be located. Three computer switchers worth $92,354 each were lost. An "international harvester vehicle truck" valued at $116,349 apparently could not be located during physical inventory.

Neither inventory includes any mention of any kind of munition, armaments, or ammunitions. A recent report by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General showed that DHS and all component agencies lost 289 firearms from fiscal years 2006 to 2008.

A woman who made a false rape charge goes to jail for it; good. Needs to happen every time there's a provably false accusation. Rape is a horrible crime and needs to be punished appropriately; falsely accusing someone of it is also a horrible crime, and needs to be punished appropriately. And note this:Gonzalez, 27, had recanted her story last year after new DNA evidence proved she'd been lying and a priest to whom she'd confessed urged her to come clean.followed by He insisted that Gonzalez suffered horrible abandonment and sexual abuse as a young teen, and has now had "a spiritual awakening."

"She is not the same person as the one who committed this crime at age 22," Callan said.

The lawyer said that at their first meeting, she'd told him, "I don't care what happens to me. You have to get Mr. McCaffrey out of jail."I wonder, did this awakening happen after she heard about the DNA test results?

I repeat what I said before: if the House and Senate pass this abortion of a 'health care' bill, lots and lots of them need, at the least, an introduction to tar & feathers, and some of them to a rope.

A bit more on the Governor of New York and the mess the New York State Police took part in to cover up what an aide did. It's disgusting to say, but we've come to expect this kind of crap from politicians(which doesn't mean we shouldn't deal with them appropriately), but even more disgusting is the lack of surprise at a law enforcement agency acting like the friggin' Praetorian Guard for said politicians instead of like actual LE officers.

'Yuck' about sums it up. In other news, ran across this the other day on the subject of eminent domain:A bill that would require agencies to declare unused land surplus after 10 years and offer to resell it to the original owner cleared a House committee Tuesday. House Bill 3053 also would strengthen notification requirements when using eminent domain to seize property.From what I heard, if the state/county/city seized someone's property under e.d., and didn't use it for ten years, the original owner could buy it back at the same price he was paid for it, and if the government then decides "But we're going to use it now!", they can use e.d. to take it back but have to pay the current market value for the land. Which sounds good to me; if they're going to take land under this power, it needs to be for some use, not just so they have it.

"Yes, we have a lot more money and the schools have improved physically, but, well, test scores still aren't what they should be; maybe we need to work on that." Gee, ya think maybe? This is in the Oklahoma City district, and the article includes such gems asNine years ago, when voters approved a $700 million sales tax to renovate or rebuild many of Oklahoma City’s school buildings, a task force also developed a set of recommendations aimed at improving the quality of education that would take place within the buildings.

"We haven’t achieved what we hoped to when this initiative came about in 2001,” said Dave Lopez, chairman of The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools’ board.

The report found the district was "unsatisfactory” or "needed improvement” in 17 areas of improvement that were established in 2001....Among the findings in the report was that the district still needed to improve early learning programs, despite progress that includes 100 percent of students now attending full-day kindergarten.Uh, maybe all kids don't NEED to be in all-day kindergarten? Huh? ...The report also noted that 45 curriculum programs are in place throughout the district and that school officials weren’t certain which programs are being used at which schools.

"Many of these programs are important, but there still appears to be an excessively large number — perhaps still subject to the criticism of simply being the ‘flavor of the month,’” the report noted.Translation: "We're doing all kinds of neat PC crap along with actual 'learning' stuff, but we actually don't know what the hell all we're doing." So maybe some of the people in charge of this mess ought to be fired and someone who'll actually pay attention take over? Huh?...And of course, "Poverty!!!" Part of the problem in Oklahoma City is the high level of poverty in the district, with almost 90 percent of Oklahoma City students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, the report noted.People have pointed out before that kids whose families are nowhere near being in 'poverty' qualify for free lunches; using that to cry "Poverty! We must DO SOMETHING, and this is why things are failing!" is bullshit, and I suspect a step in the process of "We need to take more money from people so we can help them!"

"It’s going to take a lot of us helping the kids to make sure they get what they need out of the classroom, so when they get into the classroom they are ready to learn,” foundation Executive Director Lori Dickinson said.Isn't that just a freakin' WONDERFUL sentence? I mean, think about that wording; isn't it amazing?

And this wonderful bit from the KTOK story: ...and a sharp jump in the number of students who see English as their second language. Chairman of the committee, Dave Lopez says it's an indication the district faces the same issues as urban school districts in larger cities such as Houston, Dallas and Chicago.Translation: "Lots of kids of illegal aliens, many of whose parents don't think they should have to learn English." This would actually be an easy fix: English-only classes, learn it or flunk. Anybody think these people have the integrity or balls to do that?

in which Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer for Microsoft, that an equivalent of a “driver’s licence” should be introduced for access to the web. Bad.

More bad:Microsoft has managed to do what a roomful of secretive, three-letter government agencies have wanted to do for years: get the whistleblowing, government-document sharing site Cryptome shut down.

Microsoft dropped a DMCA notice alleging copyright infringement on Cryptome’s proprietor John Young on Tuesday after he posted a Microsoft surveillance compliance document that the company gives to law enforcement agents seeking information on Microsoft users. Young filed a counterclaim on Wednesday — arguing he had a fair use to publishing the document, a full day before the Thursday deadline set by his hosting provider, Network Solutions.

Regardless, Cryptome was shut down by Network Solutions and its domain name locked on Wednesday — shuttering a site that thumbed its nose at the government since 1996 — posting thousands of documents that the feds would prefer never saw the light of day.

Microsoft did not return a call for comment by press time.Gee, I wonder why. Maybe not wanting questions about things likeFor instance, Xbox Live records every IP address you ever use to login and stores them for perpetuity.

New York State Police Superintendent Harry J. Corbitt.According to the story the woman was rather adament about persuing the order of protection until Paterson's call and the "counseling" of the State Police.

The head of the state police actually claims this a service they often offer people in cases they have nothing to do with. No word on whether he managed to keep a straight face while saying this.

The State Police superintendent, Harry J. Corbitt, said he was told of the episode within 24 hours after it occurred. He confirmed that a state police officer had met with the woman, even though the episode occurred in the jurisdiction of the New York Police Department. He said the visit was made only to tell the woman of her options, including seeking counseling.

“We never pressured her, at least what I was advised; we never pressured her not to press charges,” said Mr. Corbitt, whom the governor appointed. “We just gave her options.”

Well, Mr. Corbitt, you should be fired. And prevented from every again wearing a badge. And every jackass in a position of authority in that agency who's had a hand in this bullshit should be treated the same.

On semi-auto pistols, take a popsicle stick- sold in bundles as craft sticks- and cut one end off square. You can wet a patch with solvent or CLP, fold it double and then fold it around the square end and use it to reach inside the frame and slide rails to clean them.

Then you can use the other round end the same way to clean the lugs in the slide the barrel locks to..

Intense tropical cyclone activity has increased since about 1970. … Globally, estimates of the potential destructiveness of hurricanes show a significant upward trend since the mid-1970s, with a trend towards longer lifetimes and greater storm intensity. … These relationships have been reinforced by findings of a large increase in numbers and proportion of hurricanes reaching categories 4 and 5 globally. … numbers of hurricanes in the North Atlantic have also been above normal (based on 1981–2000 averages) in 9 of the last 11 years, culminating in the record-breaking 2005 season.

In reality, hurricanes, in both strength and in frequency, have been decreasing over the past four years. Ryan Maue of the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) at Florida State University, a hurricane researcher, has shown that “global and Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclone activity remains near 30-year historical lows — three years in a row now of considerably below-average activity globally.”

The decrease is not only in the number of hurricanes, but also in the total energy (ACE) of hurricanes, both in the Atlantic and worldwide, as a graph of hurricane energy vs. time shows:

Midway put these mag loaders on sale, and they're still on through the 28th; I'd suggest getting one. I've tried it now on 1911, Browning Hi-Power, Makarov, Star BM and Colt model M mags(.380) and it's worked well on all. I have a lot less dings on my thumb from mag lips now. And it makes loading a 13 or 15-round magazine a lot easier on those last few.

The 9mm loads with Titegroup worked well.

And if I can do decent draw & fire drills with some fingers on my left hand half-numb, then I'm doing better than I'd thought

John Yoo gets to point out- loudly- what a jerk AG Holder is, and what a pile of crap the OPR is.

“At a meeting on Monday of about 150 climate scientists in the quiet Turkish seaside resort of Antalya, representatives of the weather office (known in Britain as the Met Office) quietly proposed that the world’s climate scientists start all over again on a ‘grand challenge’ to produce a new, common trove of global temperature data that is open to public scrutiny and ‘rigorous peer review,” Fox News reported.He. Snork. HAHAHAHAHAHA! And you'll notice the bastard flew to a seaside resort in Turkey rather than a telecomm meeting or something; apparently they're not worried about their carbon emissions.

press; still got it, and it's still working well. I just wish the conversions for different cartridges didn't cost so much.

Anyway, the powder measure on it has the same problem with some powders(like Bullseye and Unique) my Hornady measure does; that stuff doesn't flow through very well, which sometimes causes light charges. Yes, they're good for failure drills; they're also a pain in the ass. With .45acp, I'd originally been using Hodgedon Clays, same problem, so tried AA#5; feeds much more smoothly. With 9mm(unfortunately) Bullseye was one of the most recommended powders, until I got the newer Lyman #49 manual, which also showed Titegroup.* Titegroup is a ball powder, and having tried it in another cartridge I'd found it metered very nicely, so now I've got a box of 9mm loaded with it to try out today; if it works out well, I'll load a couple of hundred rounds for future use.

Ah, will the drudgery never end?

*New manual comes out, get it; it'll have new powders and bullets listed.

it just wasn't good enough for me...In an interview with The Canadian Press, Williams said he went to Miami to have a "minimally invasive" surgery for an ailment first detected nearly a year ago, based on the advice of his doctors.

"This was my heart, my choice and my health," Williams said late Monday from his condominium in Sarasota, Fla.

"I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics."

stupidity. Including this:AP reports the FBI is investigating the school district's webcam program, and district spokesman Doug Young suggests without claiming that Harriton High School student Blake J. Robbins' webcam was activated only because the laptop had been reported stolen -- in accordance with an established policy. The boy was charged with an undisclosed infraction based on an image the school picked up from his webcam. District superintendent Christopher W. McGinley, in an orotund statement, defends the program while canceling it. And just to make clear that we're still in high school, Master Robbins appears to have gotten in trouble when he was photographed eating Mike and Ikes.

Robbins' attorney says the reported-stolen claim is bogus. The Wiki page is the best place to follow the unfolding story.Links to all kinds of stuff at Reason.

friend gunsmith has worked out a way to restore the cutaway section of the back, so you can fire .455 ammo in it again. Contact info at the link; says should be able to start the work within the next week.

to suit them.Anti-smoking nanny-state bitchesadvocates are expressing support for legislation that would eliminate smoking rooms in restaurants."It would improve health", etc.But Padgett says the bill doesn't go far enough. Coalition members also want to include bars in the statewide smoking ban and give cities the ability to ban smoking in restaurants and bars within the city limits."You have a separate room for smokers? NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR US!" "You have customers who like to smoke? WE DON'T CARE, THROW THEM OUT!" "I don't care if you have a whole separate air system, IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO SUIT US!"

I'm beginning to think a modern scold's bridle would be a good idea for these people.

a few years back; it would appear the atmosphere in the mine is getting really bad.There were more anti-Semitic incidents in 2009 than any other year since World War II. There were two murders linked with anti-Semitism in the United States in 2009.

In 2009, a chapel serving the city's 700-strong Jewish community was set ablaze. Jewish cemeteries were repeatedly desecrated, worshippers were abused on their way home from prayer, and "Hitler" was mockingly chanted in the streets by masked men.

"I never thought I would see this hatred again in my lifetime, not in Sweden anyway," Mrs Popinski told The Sunday Telegraph.

"This new hatred comes from Muslim immigrants. The Jewish people are afraid now."...The worst incident was last year during Israel's brief war in Gaza, when a small demonstration in favour of Israel was attacked by a screaming mob of Arabs and Swedish leftists, who threw bottles and firecrackers as the police looked on.

Jewish residents in Malmo are furious after the Swedish town's mayor, Ilmar Reepalu, equated Zionism to anti-Semitism in an interview published on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

During the interview with Skanska Dagbladet newspaper, Reepalu was asked whether he considered a public condemnation of anti-Semitism in Malmo. The mayor responded that "Malmo does not accept anti-Semitism and does not accept Zionism," charging that both adopt extreme positions towards certain groups.

Reepalu added that local Jews bear some responsibility for the attitude towards them, noting that "they have the possibility to affect the way they are seen by society." The mayor then urged Malmo's Jewish community to "distance itself" from Israeli attacks on Gaza's civilian population.The last post notes the bullcrap "The Jews are stealing our organs!" story that a Swedish newspaper pushed, falling right into the blood-libel garbage that's a staple of the palistinians.

Jumping around a bit, second story notes one of the problems, the "No, I'm just against Israel, it's Israels' fault" excuse.Mr Reepalu,(mayor of the city) who is blamed for lax policing, is at the centre of a growing controversy for saying that what the Jews perceive as naked anti-Semitism is in fact just a sad, but understandable consequence of Israeli policy in the Middle East."See? It's nothing against Jews, it's that nasty Israel!" Etc. ad bullshit.

One of the things that caught my eye was this:Hate crimes, mainly directed against Jews, doubled last year with Malmo's police recording 79 incidents and admitting that far more probably went unreported. As of yet, no direct attacks on people have been recorded but many Jews believe it is only a matter of time in the current climate.Remember all the crap that came out in Britain over the last few years, serious crimes that didn't count in the official numbers because they weren't 'recorded'? Often for the purpose of keeping the numbers down? I have to wonder if the same couldn't be true here. If the chickenshit Mayor Reepalu has police basically standing around with their thumb up their collective backside while Jews are attacked, it wouldn't surprise me.

In all seriousness, this is a very bad photo. Anyone who knows gun knows this is a PR setup, and anyone who doesn't know guns is likely to be wetting themself in the corner at the sight of a Democrat holding one. You would think this photo would be bad enough from a newspaper that refuses to give any bad press to Carnahan, but it gets worse.Various arguments in comments about points, but I love the 'wetting in the corner' line.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Israel’s air force on Sunday introduced a fleet of huge pilotless planes that can remain in the air for a full day and fly as far as the Persian Gulf, putting rival Iran within its range.

The Heron TP drones have a wingspan of 86 feet (26 meters), making them the size of Boeing 737 passenger jets and the largest unmanned aircraft in Israel’s military. The planes can fly at least 20 consecutive hours and are primarily used for surveillance and carrying diverse payloads.'Diverse payloads'. I would imagine.

'not doing their job right'? Especially on the Doctors Without Borders portable hospital? Go here. This from the comments:...Planes arrived without having asked for clearance. Planes arrived with loads that would take six or more hours to unload. Planes arrived when there was no room on the ground for them. Planes arrived without fuel to take off. Every single one of these problems were handled by the Air Force and the Haitians that they were working with.

One aircraft that landed the first day took six hours to fuel with the primitive facilities the airport had. The Air Force squeezed planes in for landings where they had bare feet on either wingtip.

According to the Air Force, the field hospital arrived without clearance and unloading it would have taken the airport out of service for hours.Kind of puts a new angle on all the bitching, doesn't it?

anyone care?" I'm going to post a long excerpt:What we achieved in the face of an implacable enemy, overcoming many in our own government willfully ignorant of our struggle, is what I believe to be the defining moment of my generation. The veteran today is the embodiment of what it means to be an American. Even when our valor was used for political sport, we continued to serve quietly.

This is truly without precedent....The bullets are flying.

My squad runs through the searing heat and forms a wall of flesh and Kevlar between the incoming fire and the citizens standing in line behind us. They’ve turned out in their finest clothes to wait for the opportunity to cast a vote. For most, this moment is a defining one in their lives. They’ve never had a voice before. This means something to them, and they have used the moment as an object lesson for their children. They appear nervous and take photos. The kids stand with them in line, viewing first hand this revolution in Iraqi civics.

As they came to line up earlier that morning, the men thanked us and clasped their hands over their heads, striking a triumphant pose. Some of the women cried. The kids were on their best behavior.

The gunfire began that afternoon. Insurgents started to shoot them. My unit ran to the road and formed a protective position between the killers and the citizens going to the polls. As we scanned the palm grove in front of us, bullets cracked and whined, then mortars start thumping around us. My squad pushed into the palm grove. I stayed on the road, overseeing their movement and coordinating the heavy fire from the Bradleys.

The firefight ebbs. The mortar fire ceases. A few last stray rounds streak past. A cry from behind causes me to turn. Lying in the road is a young Iraqi woman. I run over to help. She’s caught a round just below her temple. Her stunning beauty has been ruined forever.

She cries, “Paper! Paper” over and over until the ambulance arrives to take her away. An old lady emerges from the schoolhouse-turned voting site, sheets of blue paper in hand. She gives one to the wounded girl, who clutches it to her like a prized possession even as the ambulance carries her away.

The ballot was her voice. All she wanted was a chance to exercise it, just once, before she died.

The old woman returns to the school house, but drops another ballot along the way. It drifts in a gentle breeze across the bloodstained asphalt. I stoop down and pick it up. It is all in Arabic, and I have no idea what each set of candidates advocate. That’s not my place, and it doesn’t really matter. I helped make this day happen. This ballot represents the reason why we’re here, why my friends had to die.

Carefully, I fold the ballot up and put it in my pocket. Even though I was 29 at the time , I’d only voted once.

I had taken something so precious for granted for far too long....I came home in search of that woman’s spirit in the hearts of my fellow Americans. I came home expecting to find the sacrifice of these brave patriots revered at every turn by those who overwhelmingly sent us to war from Washington.

I’m still looking.If you can’t bring yourself to give the living the sense of accomplishment for winning a war that many claimed was endless, at least humor the dead. Allow them to rest knowing that the war that took their lives was won because of their sacrifice.

Is that too much to ask for?No, it's not. Every damn one of you deserves the highest respect for what you've done. And every two-faced, lying, back-stabbing bastard like Reid and Pelosi and Obama deserve the greatest contempt, deserve to be despised for what they've done to you and toward you.

I confess I'm having a hard time keeping this clean. Every time I think of Reid saying "The war is lost" while the troops were in battle, every time I think of Pelosi and Biden and, yes, Obama trying to make us lose I get mad enough to set the whipping post up myself. Buy some rope.

These people betrayed our troops while they were in battle with the enemy. They encouraged the enemy. They tried to make us LOSE.

Enough. Mr. Bellavia, we care. Very much. Despite the vile beings noted above and their little minions and their treachery, we do.

is going to fly?Miller said Bishop's failure to obtain tenure at the University of Alabama in Huntsville was likely a key to the shootings. Bishop, who has a doctorate from Harvard University and has taught at the University of Alabama in Huntsville since 2003, apparently was incensed that a lesser-known school rejected her for what amounted to a lifetime job.

"Obviously she was very distraught and concerned over that tenure," Miller said. "It insulted her and slapped her in the face, and it's probably tied in with the Harvard mentality. She brooded and brooded and brooded over it, and then, 'bingo.'"

Just think about that for a moment, and think about trying to sell it to a Alabama jury: "This HARVARD Doctorate didn't get tenure at a crappy Alabama university, and it pushed her over the edge! Don't you understand how stressful that was?"Hell, a jury about anywhere(except the PROM*); I can imagine a juror slipping and asking "Are you shitting me? THAT'S your defense?"

...our data indicate that although many of them reported a "strong" familiarity with the NRA, most NRA disidentifiers in our focus groups had little personal exposure to the organizations with which they disidentified(e.g., none had ever met an NRA member), and gained most of their information from media reports portraying the organization in a negative light. As one informant noted: "I don't know them, and I don't want to. I don't want to legitimate their existence by even acknowledging them. We are so far apart, we probably can't even communicate."

We only got 2 points on their 'Confiscation is the only thing good enough' scoring.I just love some of the bullshit they rate by:The state government doesn't ban private sales? "You allow the Gun Show LOOPHOLE!"You don't make people keep records when ammo is bought? "You don't care about the CHILDREEENNNN!"Only authorized users are able to operate new handguns, which means "You don't require technology that doesn't exist? "You REALLY DON'T CARE about the CHILDDREEENNNN!"And on, and on, and on.

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer, no longer receives hospital treatment after ending the course of chemotherapy that he had been given after returning to his homeland last August.

Professor Karol Sikora, the London-based doctor who examined Megrahi and predicted he would be dead by last October, admitted this weekend that the fact the bomber is still alive might be "difficult" for the families of the 270 victims of the attack....Megrahi, is now living in a spacious two-storey villa with his wife and their five grown-up children in a prosperous suburb of Tripoli, the Libyan capital.

The property has a spacious garden and an area where the family erects a large tent to entertain visitors for celebrations.

The property has a security gate and there is often a uniformed police officer sitting on a white chair outside.

The Megrahis, who are part of a prominent tribe, are well off and it is understood that his family was paid substantial compensation by the Libyan Government after he was jailed for life.Miserable little backstabbing socialist bastards like Kenny MacAskill and Brown let him go for the sake of trying to buy favor from Libya on oil deals. And maybe they just wanted to suck up to a third-world dictator as well.

Back at their base, with the benefit of hindsight, most of the soldiers agreed with the decision to refrain from firing the Hellfire. The group of fighters had been routed without a single shot being fired: a success, they said.

But the BRF commander regretted the decision. “I should have given the order,” he admitted later. “We had them.”Please note the wording: 'routed without a single shot', which translates to "They got away so they can try to kill us tomorrow."

or something(no, no link) basically saying "The tea party teabagger scum are calling the guy who attacked the IRS building a hero!"

Number one, bullshit; various people some flat nuts, are saying that. Number two, they make it pretty plain they don't give a damn about changing minds, they just want to slander people(what is is this fixation these clowns have with other peoples' testicles? 'Teabaggers' etc. every time they write). Number three, how much you want to bet that a lot of said clowns still defend Obama's domestic terrorist friends?

Next time some lefty bitches and yells what amounts to 'Teabaggers with torches and pitchforks!', tell him to kiss your ass; and note that it's his side that's actually done that, therefore if we do it- well, we're more to the point of tar & feathers, actually.

One of the problems with calling people 'racist' when you're full of crap: sooner or later, you'll get called on it. Added: I don't know if his thought is correct, though it's probably a part of it: I think that a lot of liberals got in the habit of yelling "RACIST!" at anybody who disagreed, and it worked for so long at shutting people up that they can't stop. Even when they know damn well it's a lie, and they'll be called on it.

This bullshit has come up before: I say the same thing now, they start stealing peoples retirement funds and there'll be strange fruit on the trees in D.C. And I think some of these clowns are smart enough to realize it. Powerline points out the lawyers will be unhappy if they try, but unhappy lawyers have nothing on pissed-off people who decide to clean house.

About one of those terrorist supporters Obama has in his group, here's part 2 on Rashad Hussain.

Oooh, the Anglo-Saxons are coming! And it's 'unpatriotic' to criticize, etc.Since then, the Zapatero government has worked assiduously to pin the blame for Spain’s economic difficulties on outside forces. The industry minister said Spain was facing an “imported problem.” The deputy prime minister blamed Spain’s problems on “radical liberalism,” which in euro-speak means the free market. The labor minister blamed “the neo-conservative thinking preached by U.S. President George W Bush, which has resulted in capitalism without ethical limits.” Zapatero himself blamed “the neo-conservative model based on capitalism without borders nor limits nor ethics.”

At the same time, Zapatero said: “Criticizing the economy is unpatriotic.” He accused those who are worried about the economy of “demagoguery” and “exaggeration.” He also advised: “Let’s not turn economic forecasting into a fetish.”Well, before the current version screwed up what 'liberal' meant, the free market WAS a liberal thing: but to hear these socialist morons throwing this crap out... Taking lessons from Obama, "It's ALL Bush's fault!"

"Yes, I will raise your taxes; but it wasn't my decision, so don't blame me!"

Ref the 'Justice' Department clearing Yoo and Bybee the other day: two pieces on it, here and here. The Department needs a serious housecleaning, and considering the crap he's involved in it needs to start with Holder.

MORE .30-06 HXP AMMO SOON: Our most recent purchase of HXP ammunition began arriving on Feb 17, 2010. It will take another 4-5 weeks before the full shipment is received. Until we actually receive the entire shipment, we will not know what packaging configurations will be available or the amount of each configuration. We do not yet know what our final cost will be. We do know that the quantity is large enough to satisfy our customer needs for several years. We will not accept any pre-orders or establish a waiting list. Thanks for your support and patience. We expect to again begin accepting orders by the end of March, 2010.

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Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their consciences. - C.S. Lewis

Y'all got on this boat for different reasons, but y'all come to the same place. So now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe all. Sure as I know anything, I know this - they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten? They'll swing back to the belief that they can make people... better. And I do not hold to that. So no more runnin'. I aim to misbehave. - Capt. Mal

A Rifleman’s Prayer:Oh Lord, I would live my life in freedom, peace and happiness, enjoying the simple pleasures of hearth and home. I would die an old, old man in my own bed, preferably of sexual overexertion.

But if that is not to be, Lord, if monsters such as this should find their way to my little corner of the world on my watch, then help me to sweep those bastards from the ramparts, because doing that is good, and right, and just.

And if in this I should fall, let me be found atop a pile of brass, behind the wall I made of their corpses. Geek with a .45

"He's Black Council,", I said.

"Or maybe stupid," Ebenezar countered.

I thought about it. "Not sure which is scarier."

Ebenezar blinked at me, then snorted. "Stupid, Hoss. Every time. Only so many blackhearted villains in the world, and they only get uppity on occasion. Stupid's everywhere, every day." Ebenezar McCoy

“A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition” ― Rudyard Kipling

This deprecation of individual freedom was objectionable to me. I am convinced now, as I was then, that man is an end because he is a child of God. Man is not made for the state; the state is made for man. To deprive man of freedom is to relegate him to the status of a thing, rather than elevate him to the status of a person. Man must never be treated as means to the end of the state; but always as an end within himself." Dr. M.L. King Jr.